Jurong Bird Park, Singapore.

Had a free afternoon while working in Singapore and headed for the Jurong Bird Park. Since my 24-70mm F2.8 is undergoing repair I only had the 70-200mm F4 IS L so it's a good oppurtunity to get some images and it turn out to be a very productive afternoon. Getting there using public transport (MRT to Boon Lay followed by Bus 194) from the CBD was pretty easy. Entrance was SGD18 for adult. The park is a must visit place if you are in Singapore andthe highlight of the visit for me was Bird of Prey show. It was really exciting to see hawks,eagles and vultures swoop overhead the audience! View album here.

Bako National Park

Last weekend I made a day trip to the Bako National Park. Thought I' d be lucky enough to shoot (photograph) the 'orang belanda' (Dutch people) as they are locally known or the Proboscis monkey which can be found only on the island of Borneo. The trip started with a 40 minutes drive from Kuching to the jetty point at Kampung Bako. From there you will take a 30 min boat ride to the park. Round trip boat fare was RM97 for 5 person. There were 2 ladies incidentally  from Holland sharing the boat and they couldn't make out the joke asking if they were visiting relatives. Anyway it was about 8am when we set off the jetty and life jacket were provided and the boat slowed down due to the low tide and navigating through muddy waters. Once that was clear we headed to open choppy waters and can be quite harrowing and make sure you cover your equipment.  Due to the low tide we were let off near the beach and you have take off your shoes and wade through shallow waters to get to Park HQ. Entrance is RM10 per adult and there are lodges if you wish to stay overnight. There are various trails to set off ranging from 30 mins to 7 hours trail. I set off on the Paku Trail to catch a glimpse of the monkeys. There were the Silver leaf langurs and common macaques.  The 'orang belanda' were elusive and I manage to spot them along the trial but were too high up in the trees for good shots. The other types can be aggressive if they think you have food. The trails can be quite hard with lots of steeps inclines. Make sure you have good treking shoes and bring lots of water for you will be drenched in sweat. A broad brimmed jungle hat and trekking stick are recommended items to bring. I only brought my 70-200mm F4 L IS though sufficient longer lengths are recommended for birding or even a macro for other plant and insects shoot. I wished I planned for a longer stay and will bring more equiptment on my next trip to Bako National Park. Visit my album for more images.

My Latest 'L' Lens!

But not just any lens, it's a Canon  EF 24-70 mm F2.8 L USM aka the 'brick'. This is my 2nd 'L' series lens acquisition. I have always wanted this lens from the very beginning and took me a year before justifying this costly purchase, having to sacrifice my beloved EF 28-135mm F3.5-5.6,my almost new EF 85mm F1.8 prime and some more. This lens is big,black and mean looking. It's the lens of choice for photo journalist and bread and butter lens for professional wedding photographers. This is also a very good lens for portraits with a constant aperture of F2.8, produces a beautiful bokeh and built like a tank. This fills the gap nicely for me from 24 mm right up to 200 mm. This is currently enough for my needs and with just this 2 lens I have my angles covered so to speak. The best thing for me other than the IQ of  this lens is the built quality. This gives me the consistency and reliability my previous lens cannot match and going to go the long term. I figured if I try different consumer grade lens and also other 3rd party offering I will spend just as much and at the back of my head still longing for this lens so waht the heck. This lens is worth every penny. There are lots of reviews online but at the end of the day you have to justify your own. View my album.